Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-08-30
DAILY HERALD.
LION-TAMING.
The King Of LiOn-Tamers at
Home.


Home.
A reporter of the Pail Mall Gazette
has interviewed M. Bidel, the French
lion-tamer, with the following result:
"How did you come to be lion
tamer?"
81 was bred to the business. My
father kept show. l began to enter
the cages when l was quite child. l
began with wolves, hyenas and other
small fry. At Is l left my parents,
and began to travel about the country
with other shows. In 1859 was at
Bayonne with the Banarbo Menagerie.
A young Royal Bengal tiger got loose.
You can imagine the state of the in
habitants. was sent for. looked
for the beast some time, and found him
at last in blacksmith's shop. l went
up to him, caught him by the throat
with one hand, and with the other
threw him over my shoulder and car
ried him back to his cage. / carried
him 800 yards. My back was consid-
erably damaged. l was % years old
then, and it was from that moment |
date my veritable career. / had faced
danger, knew what it was, and did
not fear it. 1 Immediately began to
tame lions, lionesses, tigers, Polar
bears, panthers, ETC."
"You smoke, l see," | said, as l
lighted cigarette from the one he
held in his hand. Tobacco does not
unsteady your nerves?"
'sCertainly not. 1t is true, do not
smoke much. Twelve cigarettes at
most day. No. No cognac, thank
YOU. l have taken my little glass,
and that is all the alcohol l shall
touch till the same time tomorrow.
Alcohol is the very worst thing man
in my profession can make bad use
of. The beasts seem to know when
man has taken too much. One would
fancy they can discriminate between
real courage and that bravado which
you call Dutch courage. All these
accidents that you read about in the
papers are caused by the drunken
ness OF lion-tamers, who bring their
courage up to the sticking point by
excessive drinking. l take no alcohol
at all except what you just saw me
take. If am ever offered a drink,
take glass Of milk, beer very rarely.
To master these brutes l have to begin
by being completely master of my
SELF"
THE SECRET OF LION-TAMING.
"What means do you employ to
tame your animals ?"
"My complete self-confidence and
my courage. considerth the only
means. Red-hot irons, arms, loaded
whips are the implements of the char
latan or of the coward. 1 have never
made use of anything more formidable
than an ordinary riding whip. And,
please observe, l only work with full
grown animals captured in a wild
state, and not, like my confreres. with
beasts born in the menagerie, and
brought up by bitches or with suck
ing-bottle. When the Prince and
Princess of Wales visited my estab-
lishment in 1878 at the time of the
exhibition, l entered the cage in their
presence and in the presence of GAM
BETA, Emile de Girardin and others,
and mastered six full grown African
lions whom had received that day
and who were as ferocious as any l
have ever had to do with. Sultan,
too, the lion whose portrait you see
over the fireplace, and who nearly
killed me a year ago, was six years
old--that is, in his prime
when entered his cage
for the first tiWe. That was down at
Lyons, in September, 1876. The pre-
vious day he had killed a man called
Vieard, and my performance was
given in favor of Vicard's widow and
orphan. Vicard was railway porter,
and had been foolish enough to put
his hand into the lions travelling box
at the station-Sultan had just arrived
from Africa that morning. Sultan
seized his arm and tore it off bodily.
The man died the same night. Before
twenty-four hours had elapsed had
entirely subjugated this man-killer.
l worked regularly with him twice a
day for ten years. 1t was just year
ago that he attacked me and nearly
killed me. / was suffering from
rheumatic pains that day and hap
pened to slip. A lion tanner must
never fall Lions have not your Eng
lish notions about respecting fallen
foe. The brute was on me like shot,
and got me by the neck. caught
him by the throat and shouted, "Sul-
tan! Sultan what are you doing?"
My voice frightened him, doubtless,
for he opened his jaws and loosened
his hold without tearing out the flesh.
If he had done that should inevitably
have been killed. He then siezed me
by the arm, and afterwards by the
thigh, wounding me besides with his
claws in three other places. | man.
aged, however, in spite of my terrible
wounds, to struggle to my feet, and
once on my feet was master of him.
Since then, however, have not
entered the cages. l have been ter
ribly shaken and reduced in strength.
1t will be sometime before will have
nerve enough to approach Sultan
once more. No, | do not believe in
that nonsense that is talked about it
being impossible to do anything with
animals who have tasted human
blood, or have seen it. If / did, /
should have retired from business
long ago. | have been bitten and
torn over and over again, and have
often continued my performance with
my blood streaming all over me- The
brutes appreciate my courage and are
afraid of me, but they see that am
not afraid OF them. This is the whole
secret of lion-taming.
1.-THE EYE is HUMBUG."
"Do you believe in the power of the
eye? There is man at the Folies-
Bergeres who processes to tame lions
by the power of ascination-mesmer-
ism. What is your opinion OF this
profession ?"
81 consider it charlatanism of the
purest water. The animals are doubt
less tame brutes, born in the cage. l